HERO to ZERO … USC Trojan Cornerback Josh Shaw Admits He Lied About Rescuing His Nephew from Pool … Suspended by USC

HERO TO ZERO IN A MATTER OF DAYS … IT WAS ALL A HOAX.

Josh Shaw, the USC cornerback and team captain who was hailed for being a hero for rescuing a nephew in a pool and injuring both of his ankles in the process, now admits that it was all a lie.  In a statement released by his attorney, Donald Etra, Josh Shaw acknowledged lying … “On Saturday, August 23, 2014, I injured myself in a fall.  I made up a story about this fall that was untrue. I was wrong to not tell the truth. I apologize to USC for this action on my part.” Umm, through his attorney? Why on earth would one need an attorney to say that you lied?

The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday that Shaw’s name was in a report from an incident that occurred at the Orsini complex on North Figueroa Street Saturday about 10 p.m.

Josh Shaw, a hero for a matter of hours, is now known for a lie.

With the Trojans’ opener against Fresno State just days away, the USC senior football team captain Wednesday told school officials he fabricated a story about rescuing a nephew in a pool and lied about how he suffered ankle injuries, the school announced.

Shaw, a starting cornerback, was suspended from the team indefinitely.

“We are extremely disappointed in Josh,” USC Coach Steve Sarkisian said in a statement. “He let us all down. As I have said, nothing in his background led us to doubt him when he told us of his injuries, nor did anything after our initial vetting of his story.”

Athletic Director Pat Haden said he was disappointed and surprised because he had found Shaw to be “a very credible kid.” Haden was in the hospital because of a heart issue when he first heard of Shaw’s alleged rescue and injuries. He said USC officials vetted Shaw’s story 12 times with a number of different people.

“Right now, what we know is we have a kid that fabricated a story, period,” Haden said.

And USC publicized it.

The school did not include an explanation of what it now believes actually happened. In a statement released through his attorney, Donald Etra, Shaw acknowledged lying but did not provide any details.

Josh Shaw’s Heroic Rescue Story Was a Lie; but Why?

As rumors swirled about what happened to the player, Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith said on Tuesday evening that Shaw’s name was mentioned in a burglary report in an incident that occurred Saturday night in the 500 block of Figueroa Street, in downtown Los Angeles.

Shaw was an acquaintance of the victim, not a person of interest or a suspect, Smith said.

NASCAR’s Tony Stewart Hits and Kills Driver Kevin Ward, Jr. During Spring Cup Race at Canandaigua, New York Motorsports Park (VIDEO) (Update: Authorities Says On-Going Investigation)

JUST HORRIFIC …

43 year old NASCAR driver Tony Stewart hit and killed 20 year old Kevin Ward, Jr. last night at a dirt racetrack in Canandaiqua, New York. Stewart’s vehicle hit Kevin Ward Jr. after he got out of his race car while the race was under a yellow flag. Ward walked on to the track pointed his finger and yelling at Stewart following his crash at the end of turn two during lap 14 of 25. Kevin Ward Jr. died from injuries suffered in the incident.

The Nascar driver Tony Stewart struck and killed another driver on Saturday night while competing in a dirt track sprint car event at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in Central Square, N.Y.

A graphic video posted on YouTube showed Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup champion in Nascar, hitting the driver, Kevin Ward Jr., 20, as Ward stood outside his racecar on the track.

Ward and Stewart had bumped cars during an earlier lap, sending Ward’s racecar into an outside wall and prompting a caution flag. Ward then exited his racecar and approached on foot as Stewart’s racecar came around again. As Ward stood on the track and pointed at Stewart, Stewart’s racecar sounded as if it revved its engine then fishtailed, the right tire hitting Ward and dragging him under the car.

WARNING – DISCRETION ADVISED, Graphic and Adult Language

UPDATE I: Tony Stewart will not dive today in NASCAR race in  Watkins Glen, NY after striking, killing driver Saturday night.

New post: Tony Stewart changes mind, will not drive in NASCAR race

Tony Stewart was “visibly shaken” by an incident in which his car struck and killed a driver during a dirt-track race in Canandaigua, N.Y., but will drive today, as planned, in a nearby NASCAR race.

“He is believed to be back in Watkins Glen [site of today's NASCAR race] at this time,” Philip C. Povero, Ontario County, N.Y., sheriff told reporters Sunday morning. “Mr. Stewart has, again, fully cooperated with the police officers that are investigating. He was visibly shaken by this incident and has promised his continuing cooperation in this investigation.”

UPDATE II: Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero Gives Press Conference on Tony Stewart Incident. (VIDEO)

Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero says this is an on-going investigation into an on-track crash.

Daily Commentary – Friday, August 1, 2014 – The Scared Monkeys Good Guy of the Week Award Goes to Charles Barkley

• Who is offering to pay for the funeral of 3 Philadelphia children killed in a carjacking. Kudo’s Charles!

Al Qaeda Magazine Suggesting Target List for Attacks Including The US Tennis Open

 Who finds it a little bizarre that Al Qaeda has a magazine that would announce their terror intentions?

In a briefing for New York City’s private security community, Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD’s director of intelligence analysis, warned that Inspire magazine, Al Qaeda magazine, is instructing terrorists on how to make bombs and where to set them off. It would appear that the US Tennis Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY has made the list. Will Al Qaeda now start targeting sporting events where infidels are just having a good time and bothering no one? Was the Boston Marathon just the beginning?

Pic – US Open

The US Open Tennis Championship appears on a wish list of terror targets in an al Qaeda magazine, an NYPD official said Wednesday.

In a briefing for New York City’s private security community, Rebecca Weiner, the NYPD’s director of intelligence analysis, warned that Inspire magazine is instructing would-be terrorists on how to make bombs and where to set them off, WCBS 880?s Marla Diamond reported.

The magazine lists targets in Washington, D.C.; Virginia; and New York — including the US Open, which begins Aug. 25 in Flushing Meadows, Queens.

My persona belief is that contained sporting events like The US Open are less susceptible to attack because they are contained and easier to defend. One would think these cowards would attack more open events like a marathon that is really impossible to control.

I wonder if any of these would be Al Qaeda terrorists have come through that secure Southern border?

75th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s ‘Luckiest Man’ Farewell Speech, “Yet Today I Consider Myself the Luckiest Man on the Face of This Earth.”

75 years later and Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech still brings chills and tears … “I may have been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

It was July 4, 1939 as the New York Yankees honored Lou Gehrig between games of a doubleheader with the Washington Senators before a packed house at Yankee Stadium of 61,000.  It was  just two short months after the greatest first baseman in the history of baseball, Lou Gerhig, found out that ne suffered from ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, that had robbed the “Iron Horse” of his physical abilities. Gehrig was almost too choked up and emotional to speak following all the tributes; however, he did and the rest is forever history … “Yet Today I Consider Myself the Luckiest Man on the Face of This Earth.”

When the tributes were finished, the 36-year-old Gehrig nearly walked away. He had prepared remarks, but he wasn’t prepared for his own emotions. Naturally shy to begin with, he stared at the ground and wiped away tears with a handkerchief he kept in his back pocket. As fans shouted, “We want Lou!” Sid Mercer, the sportswriter who served as master of ceremonies, told the crowd that Larrupin’ Lou was too moved to speak.

But then McCarthy put his hand on Gehrig’s back and whispered in his ear, as if he were giving his first baseman some last-minute instructions before taking the field. With that, Gehrig approached the microphones, ran his right hand through his hair, took a deep breath and began to speak without notes:

Lou Gehrig’s Farewell Address:

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

“Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

“When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know.

“So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for.”

- Lou Gehrig

The “Iron Horse” would die two years later.

Lou Gehrig ESPN Sports Century Documentary